Infamous Mount Vesuvius: One of the World’s Most Dangerous Volcanoes (41 PICS)

Mount Vesuvius looms in the distance from the ancient ruins of Pompeii. This volcano is best known for its eruption in 79 AD that buried and destroyed the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The towns were forgotten until their accidental rediscovery in the 18th century. Photo #1 by Glen Scarborough

Looking down at Vesuvius from a plane. Wikipedia lists these many eruptions of Mount Vesuvius: The famous eruption in 79 AD was preceded by numerous others in prehistory, including at least three significantly larger ones, the best known being the Avellino eruption around 1800 BC which engulfed several Bronze Age settlements. Since 79 AD, the volcano has also erupted repeatedly, in 172, 203, 222, possibly 303, 379, 472, 512, 536, 685, 787, around 860, around 900, 968, 991, 999, 1006, 1037, 1049, around 1073, 1139, 1150, and there may have been eruptions in 1270, 1347, and 1500.The volcano erupted again in 1631, six times in the 18th century, eight times in the 19th century (notably in 1872), and in 1906, 1929, and 1944. There has been no eruption since 1944, and none of the post-79 eruptions were as large or destructive as the Pompeian one. Photo #3 by Pastorius

The height of the main cone has changed constantly by its eruptions, but is Vesuvius looms at 4,203 ft (1,281 m). Photo #4 by Paul Young

Pompeii with Mount Vesuvius in the background. The humpbacked mountain started forming about 25,000 years ago, but the area has had volcanic activity for at least 400,000 years. Photo #6 by Kim Navarre

Ruins of Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius. Along with Herculaneum, Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption in 79 AD. The eruption buried Pompeii under 13 to 20 ft (4 to 6 m) of ash and pumice, and it was lost for nearly 1,700 years before its accidental rediscovery in 1749. Now it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This very popular tourist attractions in Italy has about 2,500,000 visitors per year. Photo #10 by Trey Ratcliff

Vesuvio victims in Pompeii. The excavated town offers a snapshot of Roman life in the 1st century, and of the people, frozen at the moment it was buried on 24 August AD 79. Photo #11 by Fer.filol

An oil on canvas painting from the 1770s by Pierre-Jacques Volaire: View of the Eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The volcano’s eruption and destruction of Pompeii has captured the imagination of artists for hundreds of years. Photo #13 by Web Gallery of Art

To the top of Vesuvius. The photographer wrote, “These steps are near the end of the long trek to the top of Vesuvius. One of my favorite shots of the long walk to the top. Kind of like a ‘stairway to heaven’ alongside a vent that spewed the fires of hell.” Photo #18 by Jim Landerkin

Well-preserved Pompeian. The photographer noted, “Pompeii was buried under the ash and rubble of Mount Vesuvius, the objects buried beneath it were remarkably well-preserved for thousands of years. The lack of air and moisture allowed for the objects to remain underground with little to no deterioration, which meant that, once excavated, the site had a wealth of sources and evidence for analysis, giving remarkable detail into the lives of the Pompeians.” Photo #23 by Dr. Wendy Longo

8 thoughts on “Infamous Mount Vesuvius: One of the World’s Most Dangerous Volcanoes (41 PICS)”

It’s fascinating reading r/t the reaction of masses of the populace after the volcano had given some early warning small sort of eruptions prior to the big blow. – The local politicians actually took the entrails of a ritually-slaughtered animal and “read” them, predicting that there was nothing to worry about. – They informed their worried constituents that there was nothing to fear.

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